oh no are they unethical? This is the kind of thing that ds would love, aaargh.
I have really really tried to make my own stuff like this, as part of my non-buying-it aside. Here is the problem.
For a child of about 3/4, pos esp a boy, pos esp my boy, I dunno, it is imperative to have very clear places to put the thread.
What I did to try to make this stuff was to buy a single hole punch. I then applied this to felt. The problem was a. that the holes made weren't very good, but b. that there appeared to be no way to reach the recesses of the felt, so the detailing on the fish pouch would be not good.
Another problem I came up with was that I find planning this sort of stuff tricky for sewing stuff. I dunno how to explain that really, I have never learnt to sew and I don't have a sense of it, IYKWIM.
I also have to admit that my ds has much much more respect for things that come in polythene bags, not "ooh, look what mummy has made you. ". . He will often say, when I suggest an exciting project "that is a LOVELY idea mummy but couldn't we please just buy it?"
This is a child who has been raised to respect wool btw.